Flying Without Wings
by Honeeym
Summary: What happens when Caroline sinks into depression, Bonnie leaves town and Damon has had enough? Unlikely bonds are formed as the three of them are brought together by a mysterious box that will lead to the path of self-discovery, redemption and healing. AU.
1. I Become So Numb

"_Everybody's looking for a something_

_One thing that makes it all complete_

_You'll find it in the strangest places_

_Places you never knew it could be"_

_Westlife._

* * *

**Part One – Caroline Forbes**

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – I Become So Numb**_

"_There," Klaus said as he put the shovel down. "Twelve graves for twelve witches."_

_Caroline registered movement in her field of vision, but her eyes remained fixated on an invisible point in front of her. She wasn't strong enough to look at those freshly-dug graves. _

"_Like it never happened," the Original added, adjusting his jacket. "Only it did happen. Now, Silas has everything he needs to open the gates to Hell on Earth."_

"_You were just going to let Bonnie die," she said tiredly, anger filtering through her voice._

"_I know arithmetic isn't your strong point, but one is still less than twelve."_

_The bite in his voice was like a bucket of freezing water dropped on her head. The blonde finally found the strength to get to her feet. She was surprised that her body was still able to do something as mundane and harmless as standing up. Wasn't she just a monster? It made little sense that she could still walk and talk like normal human beings. _

"_Yeah, but that one is my best friend," she insisted. _

_Their eyes met confrontationally, and Caroline caught the glimpse of jubilation in Klaus'. _

"_You tell yourself whatever you need to, so you can sleep at night."_

_Sleep? How would she ever be able to sleep again? _

"_I just killed twelve people", she enunciated, horrified by the brutal, ugly truth. _

_She sucked in an unnecessary intake of air, feeling her precarious sense of balance flicker._

"_Hey," Klaus breathed as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "You look like you're in need of comfort."_

_She nodded, neglecting her number one rule to never show herself in a vulnerable state in front of someone like him. The moment their eyes met, she realized it was a mistake. He gave her a cruel smile. He was gloating. _

"_Why don't you find someone less _terrible_ you can relate to?"_

_His voice was vibrant with harshness. The kind of cold, inevitable harshness that came with the telling of the truth. He may have regretted the words the moment they passed his lips, there weren't any less legitimate. She had judged him – rightfully so – and now, it was blowing up in her face. And if she took a second to look at the situation objectively, she was forced to admit that she deserved it. _

_She deserved Klaus' contempt. _

_How had she sunk so low? _

_She ran before he could tell her just how alike they were, now. _

One way or another, she had managed to drag herself home and wash the blood off her hands. She had climbed into her bed, just like she did every time the world outside was too much for her to handle, and brought her knees to her chest under the warm comforter. Huddled up like the child she had ceased to be, she let her mind wander.

It had been mere hourssince she had left Klaus in that forest, running from the evidence of her monstrosity. Hours since she had sacrificed innocents on the altar of love and friendship.

She sighed.

Despite her impromptu dive into the world of the supernatural, Caroline Forbes had always thought of herself as a good person. She was undeniably flawed, but her main preoccupation, at all times, was to do "the right thing". Hurting others made her heart bleed. As she lay on her bed, wide-eyed, waiting for something inside of her to snap, she could feel said heart blackening. And she feared she would become engulfed by darkness.

Because she hadn't shed a single tear. Her eyes remained dry, her breathing infuriatingly regular. She didn't feel nauseous, or particularly disgusted. She had killed twelve people, and even though she tortured herself by imagining what their names were, what their friends looked like and how their families would miss them, she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge the many, many ways in which it hadn't been "the right thing".

She'd told Klaus that "_people who do terrible things are just terrible people_." Her own words were torturing her.

The biggest threat Mystic Falls had ever had to face was in town, and she had made it easier for him to unleash Hell on Earth. A few days before, she had called Bonnie a crazy person for wanting to complete the expression triangle with the massacre of twelve people – and _she _ended up being the one to do it.

Caroline's chest tightened. Although the thought of a world without the young witch made her want to rip her heart out, the vampire felt unexpectedly angry at her best friend.

This was all Bonnie's fault. It was Bonnie who had trusted Shane, Bonnie who had let him control her even after she learned he had an agenda, Bonnie who decided to sacrifice twelve innocents – witches, at that. Bonnie had put herself in a fatal situation, and it was her fault that Caroline had to intervene.

_Or was it? _

Bonnie wanted to sacrifice the witches so she could channel enough power and energy to drop the veil between their world and "the Other Side" – that supernatural purgatory where _some _people they had loved were stuck. Caroline had called Bonnie crazy, because getting a few loved ones back wasn't worth risking it all.

But who was the crazy person, now? Who had saved her best friend at the dire cost of twelve lives, and maybe more to come? She didn't know anything anymore. She'd cast judgments upon people who cared about her – and there she was, crazy and terrible herself, and unable to regret any of it.

Through the numbness, she managed to hear her phone vibrate. A fit of foolish hope made her wonder if Tyler had finally decided to return her calls – she immediately scowled at herself for it. However, she grabbed her Windows Phone, just to make sure.

It was Stefan. His text message read: _Bonnie just woke up. Come over ASAP. _

Caroline shivered when a single tear of relief rolled down her face. She welcomed the discomfort that came with it and kept staring at the letters, caressing their contours and committing them to memory as they blurred. Just a few blocks away, Bonnie was breathing.

_But not for long. _

She yanked the comforter away from her body and stormed out of the house, not bothering to grab her phone or her purse. Her feet flying above the ground, she felt her blood boil. Every ounce of energy that had seemingly deserted her was coming back with a vengeance. Her chest was heavy with the need to yell and she barely took a second to pause before she helped herself into Bonnie's house and rushed to the bedroom.

A groan of frustration escaped her when Stefan's muscular body put an end to her race. Following his gaze, Caroline realized that she'd torn away the door handle. He gave her a tender, understanding smile. She buried the urge to hit him.

"She's fine, Care," Stefan said reassuringly. "But there's something—"

She cut him off and tried to squirm out of his hold, only to find herself held up again. Her eyes narrowed at him – friendly warning that if looks were wooden stakes, he would be lying on the ground, colder than he already is, deader than he'd ever be.

Why was Bonnie so quiet, anyway? Shouldn't she be organizing the party of the fucking century and making a giant _thank you for saving my life_ sign with glitter? Wasn't that the least she could expect? Or was it against some kind of law to throw a party for someone who'd killed twelve people?

She stretched her neck to get a look at the witch and caught a glimpse of messy hair and trembling hands wiping humid eyes. Stefan angled his shoulders to block the view. She huffed somehow threateningly – _deader than dead, Stefan, this is your final warning_. His fingers stopped clasping her arm and she folded her arms against her chest, waiting.

"Caroline," he said, and her stomach flipped at that tone he'd used one too many times with her.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. Honestly, she didn't give the beginning of a fuck about what he was about to say. Nothing would stop her from giving a piece of her mind to Bonnie. Bad names needed to be screamed, accusations needed to be made and friendships needed to be broken – and they would be.

"She doesn't remember anything," he informed, the undertones of his voice trying to coax her into calmness the way they always did.

"No," was all she could say to his statement and his coaxing both. The room swayed around her and she slapped his hand away when he tried to steady her. _Now you want to help me? Where were you in that forest when I needed you to man up?_

"Silas did this," he continued. "He'd been controlling her ever since Damon found her on the island."

"No," she said again. "You're lying."

Of course he was not. Of course it made perfect sense. Of course she should have known.

When her best friend, the person she was supposed to know better than herself, carelessly suggested to _kill twelve people_, she should have known. She'd been too busy calling Bonnie crazy to even register. Had there been something different in the way she walked? Had her eyes shined with a demoniac glint? Had she sounded unnatural?

"I had to tell her everything," he added. "She's confused and—"

Before Caroline could form a coherent thought, Bonnie was standing next to Stefan, with the kind of sadness and grief that nobody should have to experience twice over the same loss. Her face was strained with tears and Caroline bit her lip. It was one of those moments where a part of her wanted something and the other scowled at her for even considering it.

Bonnie was in need of a friend. She needed hugs and lasagna and comforting, nonsensical words like _everything is going to be fine in the end and if it's not fine, then it's not the end yet, so hang in there, Bon'_. But that was the end – the end of friendship as _BonnieAndCaroline _had known it. Comforting words were too much to ask when all Caroline could think about was how everything that had happened could have been avoided, had she been a just a little less _stupid. _

"I'm so sorry," the brunette whispered. "Caroline, this is _terrible _but _—_"

There was no "but". People who did terrible things were just terrible people. And people who let terrible things happen because they didn't pay attention were even worse.

Her head was spinning and she felt bile rising in her throat because she had let her best friend be possessed so she couldn't even be mad at Bonnie anymore for the sacrifice and that left only her goddamned self to blame and she didn't have it in her to deal with this right now. Actually, she wasn't sure she ever would.

When Bonnie reached out for her hand, Caroline flinched.

"Don't—" she choked.

Despite Stefan's invitations to keep a cool head and discuss this like adults, despite Bonnie's pleading words of apologies and appeasement, Caroline felt herself break down.

In the space of five hours, there had been Klaus' outrageous speech about the allure of darkness and there had been the unholy murder of twelve innocent human beings and there had been loss of her soul in a way and there had been no calls or messages or emails or fucking carrier-pigeons from Tyler and — she simply could take no more.

So she didn't.

"I can't be around you," she simply said, meeting Bonnie's watery eyes for the first time since she got there. "I just can't."

She walked out of Bonnie's bedroom and out of Bonnie's house and maybe out of Bonnie's life, with that kind of cadaveric rigidity about her that she had never experienced before, not even when she actually died and resurrected. Wide-eyed and unsteady on her feet, she faintly wondered whether the infamous vampire humanity switch had flipped itself, because that had to be the explanation to account for the emptiness that was swallowing her.

When she got home, the first thing she did was crash her fist against the mirror in the lobby. After that, she crashed her fist against every other mirror and reflecting surface in the house, with such clinical meticulousness and determined precision that it was laughable, really. Splinters of broken glass pierced her skin and blood trickled from her hand, but she didn't wince.

After she was gone, she washed her hands for the hundredth time that day, dragged herself to her bedroom and landed heavily of the bed. She absent-mindedly brought her knees to her chest and pulled the comforter up to her chin. She experienced no comfort from the familiarity of those gestures. It didn't matter. There was nothing else she could do. There was nothing else she _would _do.

As she lay there, unable to formulate the beginning of a thought, she felt the weight of eternity crushing her and finally understood why they called it a curse.

For the first time since she'd become a vampire, she wished Damon had never given her blood.

* * *

**A/N : At last, we meet again, readers of mine (if you're still here). I hope you're ready to bear with me for another roller-coaster fiction. The original idea behind this came from my friend Kim and I've had significant help from the lovely VictoriaJoan to turn this into a meaningful fiction. There will be love and friendship and self-discovery and forgiveness and much, much more. E****ach of the three parts will be told from a character's point of view so we're staying with Caroline for a few more chapters, then moving on to Bonnie and finally, Damon. Are you excited to see where this goes? Till next time! - M.**


	2. These Hard Times

_**Chapter 2 – These Hard Times**_

It was a spiral, really. An endless, overwhelming, and confusing spiral. Self-loathing and regret and anger and fear had engaged in a restless battle, sucking the life out of a broken Caroline.

The previous couple of days had blurred into one long cluster of confused memories. She vaguely remembered getting home and breaking every mirror in the house, all too eager to avoid any unintentional encounter with her reflection. After that, her wrath had caused her to ravage her bedroom, the very cradle of the girl she used to be.

She'd sent vases flying against the walls she'd spent heavenly hours painting with her late father, crushed the frames where Tyler's smile was blatantly mocking her, and ripped her comforter to shreds. That room was screaming at her: look who you used to be and look how you've turned out.

After long moments of outbursts, her legs had given in, leaving her panting on the rug. Much like a machine on overdrive, her body had completely shut down. Everything was too much – feeding, showering, talking. The weight of the world had come to rest on her shoulders, pining her down for good.

She hadn't left her bed in two weeks.

She barely had enough strength left to breathe and drink the blood her mother insisted on bringing her twice a day. The sheriff watched helplessly as her "baby girl" became a ghost. Hard as she tried, none of her comforting words managed to break through to Caroline.

Matt had stopped by, once. As the only human of the group, he was the one with the most "normal" perspective on things. His barometer of right and wrong remained miraculously unbiased and Caroline should have believed him when he had assured that her actions had been that of a true friend. She didn't.

Whatever mitigating circumstances they came up with, she remained immobile and unfazed. All she could see were shadows with blurry contours, speaking nothing more than empty words. Matt would have forgiven her anything because he could not lose anyone else. And unfortunately, the monsters under the bed had become too much for her mother to fight away with cookies and milk.

_Because she_ _was the monster, now, and they were too _human _to even begin to comprehend what she had done._

She'd retreated into silence for the sake of her fragile sanity, living in a world where she hadn't become her worst nightmare. She'd discovered that the mind _was _a powerful tool when it came to burying oneself in denial. Her imagination whisked her away to sleepless nights in Tyler's arms, to daily shopping sprees with Elena and Bonnie and —

The all-too-familiar buzzing of her phone disturbed the stream of her (dark, way too dark, dangerously dark) thoughts. She winced, and the muscles of her face contorted painfully. She faintly worried that she'd become a statue if she didn't start using them more often. _Who needs Botox when you can kill people and become catatonic?_

Annoyance got the best of her after the tenth vibration. This could not go on any longer. With a groan, she rolled to the side and grabbed her phone, not bothering to check for the caller's ID.

"Stop harassing me," she stated, her voice croaky.

"Stop avoiding me," he fired back.

Stefan had made an irritating habit of calling her ten times a day to make sure that she was "alive and well" – or, as well as she could be in a moment like this. She usually picked up the phone without a word, letting him know that she was still breathing, and hung up after a few seconds.

"What do you want, Stefan?"

"You need to get out of the house," he said softly.

"And you need to leave me alone."

She hung up before he could engage in a list of reasons why isolating herself from the group was self-destructive. She wasn't lucky enough to be entirely buried in denial. Her conscience was gnawing at her night and day and she didn't Stefan Salvatore adding up to it.

_Why couldn't everyone be a little more like Klaus?_

A few days before, the Original had showed up uninvited – by _her _at least, because her mother had given the son-of-a-bitch full access to the house since the night he'd sire-bonded Tyler into poisoning her with hybrid venom – bleeding and delirious from an unexpected encounter.

The big bad wolf had found his true match in Silas, who had not only stabbed him with a white oak stake – purposefully missing the heart and living splinters inside the wound – but also had a bit of fun, making Klaus see things. A part of Caroline had wanted to snort at that and say something like _it's about time you got a taste of your own medicine, Klaus _but guilt had silenced her. She was the reason why Silas felt comfortable showing his face – not literally, but still. She'd patiently extracted every bit of wood from Klaus' wound and in exchange, he'd given her what she wanted: silence and judgment.

They'd looked at each other for endless minutes, he studying her and she pretending she didn't feel the "allure of darkness" at that moment. For a second, she'd caressed the illusion of giving in – a life on the run with Klaus, with her humanity switched off, couldn't be so bad, could it? At some point, he'd thrown an infuriating smirk at her and said something like _with Silas lurking, you'd better get over yourself and be ready for one Hell of a fight, love. _She hadn't. As soon as he'd left, she'd forgotten all about him, and all about those out-of-character thoughts. There was nothing about Niklaus Mikaelson that deserved her attention.

The world hadn't stopped since she'd decided it was better off without her. She could hear some of her high school friends walking by the house, preoccupied by the shallow issues that had once shaped her days. Senior Prom was just around the corner, and she couldn't even be bothered. What was there to celebrate when she'd gone from high-school it-girl to murderess?

She vaguely remembered reading that depressed people described their state as a fog bank rolling in upon their mind. But she wasn't depressed – she wasn't suffering from a hormonal imbalance, and no drug could restore her to the person she used to be. If she was going through Hell, it was because she'd made a conscious choice that had ruined everything good about her.

Fog would have been easy to deal with. She'd have vegetated in her bedroom for a few days, and then she'd have let Stefan talk her through the rough patch and reconnected with Bonnie. Yes, the fog would have lifted with a little bit work.

But she felt like she was trapped in a dark room, and the walls were closing in on her. They would crush her, she knew that much. How was she supposed to fight when her mind was frozen? All sense of hope for a brighter future had vanished. The optimistic but cautious Caroline had been replaced by this empty shell who shared with her past incarnation only the traits. If only that.

She rolled her eyes when she heard her mother coming up to her door. It was too early for the evening dose of blood, which meant Liz was obviously coming to talk. _Again. _

"Sweetie, you have a visitor," she announced nervously.

Caroline bit her tongue – she didn't want to be rude to her mother, and she couldn't keep Stefan away forever. She sat up slowly, unbothered by the mess that surrounded her. She'd forbidden her mother to do any cleaning; she was convinced that one's bedroom should reflect one's state of mind, and as she glanced around, she felt in perfect harmony with the setting.

Mother and daughter stared at each other for a second and, although she could see warmth and affection in her mother's eyes, Caroline couldn't bring herself to be moved. She did feel sorry about putting Liz through so much, but was there to do about it?

The sheriff stepped aside, revealing a shy Bonnie staring at her feet.

_Bonnie. _

The two girls hadn't spoken since that day at her house. She'd read Stefan's numerous texts, so she knew that the witch was literally horrified about the expression triangle – but _hello_, weren't they all? – and that she wanted to make it up to her. _How exactly did one make up for that? _

"Hi, Care," Bonnie greeted softly.

Caroline's eyes widened. Her best friend's voice sounded unfamiliar. _Was it normal that the person you'd killed for sounded like a stranger?_

Liz gave Bonnie an encouraging smile, nodded at her daughter and left to give them some privacy.

"Hello," Caroline said as the other teenager looked around with a frown.

Silence between them had been comfortable from the early days of their friendship – the early days of their lives. Bonnie and Caroline were typically the kind of girls who could babble about nonsense for hours and fall into a serene silence for an entire evening. They were special.

Not anymore.

Silence was heavy and painful and unbearable. Bonnie sat at Caroline's desk – at a safe distance. Their eyes had yet to meet.

"How are you doing?" she asked. "Stefan says you won't talk to anyone."

More silence and then —

"What do you want?"

"I came to tell you how sorry I am," Bonnie whispered. "For everything."

There was a wall between them. A wall behind which Caroline was trying to hide the two horrible seconds of regret she'd had in two weeks. Two seconds when she'd said no to the questions: _was it worth it? If given the choice, would I do the same? Is Bonnie's life worth the life of twelve innocents, and my sanity and my sense of self-worth and my soul?_

The answer was yes, of course. Bonnie's life was worth that "and so much more" – those were the things you said to your friends. You told them you loved them like you'd never loved anyone before, that you felt like you could trust them with your life, that you would kill for them. You meant it, of course, metaphorically. But you never _actually _had to be true to your word because, _let's be serious for a sec_.

"What's done is done."

"I should have been stronger," Bonnie argued. "I should have—"

"Stop. It wasn't your fault."

Relief briefly flashed through Bonnie's eyes, and Caroline smiled. Saying things out loud always made them more tangible, more believable. It wasn't Bonnie's fault. Everything she had said, every decision she had made couldn't be held against her. She had been under a spell. She'd been a tool, a pawn.

But where did that leave the two of them? When the time would come to give explanations, what would Caroline have to say in her defense? Could she and Bonnie be considered partners in crime?

"You're not mad at me?" Bonnie said.

"When have I ever stayed mad at you for more than five minutes?"

_Never. Not even when you kissed my crush during Spring Break. _

"It wasn't your fault either," Bonnie reasoned. "Silas did this to us."

Caroline sighed. That would be the logical conclusion, wouldn't it? She simply shrugged and stared at the teddy bear she'd dismembered a few days before. She would regret that, someday. It was a gift from her father.

"I just — I don't know how to thank you, Caroline. You saved my life."

"You saved us all a billion times," Caroline said blankly. "You're my best friend. I did what I had to."

The words were spoken without any emotion, although they couldn't be more sincere. Caroline couldn't bring herself to look at Bonnie.

"I have something for you," Bonnie said.

She retrieved a tiny tin box from her bag and came to sit next to Caroline on the bed. She fiddled with the box for a moment, giving Caroline time to rapidly study the ordinariness of it and understand that it was everything _but _ordinary. It was magical.

Bonnie hesitantly pushed it towards her.

"It's not much but—"

"I don't want it."

She pushed the box back towards Bonnie. The only thing she wanted from her friend was a 'thank you' and she receiving it had crushed her even further. What she'd done was wrong, and it didn't deserve acknowledgments.

"It's a goodbye gift," Bonnie insisted.

A pang of _something _made Caroline flinch. Goodbye? Where was that coming from? Didn't she have enough to deal with already? She cleared her throat, her eyes frantically looking for Bonnie's. When was this going to stop? Her father was dead, and Tyler was gone. They'd left holes inside of her that nothing could ever fill. She couldn't lose Bonnie, too.

"You're – you're leaving?"

It didn't make _any _sense.

"I have to," she said. "Now that Silas has everything he needs, he's going to come after me."

Caroline gritted her teeth. _Now that I have given Silas everything he needs, he's going to come after her. _This was an impossible situation. If she'd let them, the witches would have killed Bonnie. And now that she hadn't, Bonnie was going to be threatened by Silas for the rest of her life. It was unfair that she'd sacrificed people to keep Bonnie alive, only to have her taken away a few days later.

"As Qetsiyah's direct descendant, I'm the only one who can perform the spell that'll drop the veil between here and the Other Side," Bonnie continued. "The reign of terror has got to end. I refuse to put any of you in danger again."

For a moment, Caroline sat there, contemplating Bonnie's words – feeling everything crumbling down.

"So you're running."

"Disappearing. Damon will help," Bonnie said. "He appears to be quite good at helping people die."

Caroline laughed half-heartedly, but the sound came out as an unnatural caw. There was something like a dull ache to saying goodbye. Something like a distant stabbing in her heart – something that she thought she was too far gone to really feel, but that was there nonetheless.

"Where will you go?"

Bonnie grimaced.

"If Silas can get inside Klaus' head, imagine what he could do to the rest of us."

Of course. The less she knew, the better. If Silas decided to browse through her brain, he would find nothing.

As she looked at Bonnie, something inside of Caroline snapped. Every cell in her body was urging her to take action and do _something _to stop her friend from leaving. There would be no surviving the vacancy that Bonnie's departure would leave in her heart.

"Will you be in touch?" she said, her voice shaky.

"If you want me to," Bonnie whispered shyly.

The change that Caroline had stopped expecting finally happened, and before she could comprehend what was happening, she was sobbing in Bonnie's arms. She'd spent two weeks avoiding the only person who was as vital to her as breathing, and now they were forced to be apart – talk about wasted time.

The two teenagers cried together for a long time, allowing themselves a break from everything that made their lives such an ordeal. For a moment, they became beautifully normal again as they experienced the most human of emotions: loss.

Those were girls who'd grown up thinking they'd move in together in Los Angeles and become the most famous girl's band in history. Girls who'd said kissing boys was "gross", only to realize that nothing on Earth was more fun to do. Girls who'd survived their parents' comings and goings in the midst of the devastating intrusion of the supernatural in their lives. Girls who'd defeated evil together and still got to high school dances in heels and princess dresses.

They were not friends.

They were sisters.

After endless minutes of tears and sniffing, it was Caroline who broke their embrace. She looked at Bonnie and wondered how she would ever be able to exist in a world where the young witch didn't live next door.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Bonnie said. "Silas must be chasing after Katherine and the cure. It'll give me time to get started with my plan."

"The plan that must remain secret," Caroline observed bitterly. "Okay."

"Keep the box, please," Bonnie said as she stood up. "It'll help."

"Bonnie, magic is what got us here in the first place."

"Then it should get us out," she argued. "Please."

Caroline gave in with a sigh, unsure of how a _box _could help. If magic couldn't keep Bonnie by her side, what good was it?

"Thanks."

Bonnie wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled. Caroline didn't blink, willing to commit this image to memory.

"Be safe," Caroline said, demanding and pleading at the same time.

Bonnie nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Care."

* * *

**A/N : Hey, readers ! The story comes to its first turning point as Bonnie decides to leave town to protect her loved ones, but also herself. What did you think about Caroline's state of mind regarding the murder of the witches? Do you believe it is going to change, now that Bonnie is gone? Any idea on how the witch is going to stay away from Silas? What do you think the box's purpose is? Thank you for your reviews on Ch. 1 - it's good to read you - M.**


	3. Whatever You Need

**_Chapter 3 – Whatever You Need_**

Caroline woke up that day, painfully aware of the date.

Senior Prom was finally here, and after all these years, she felt like it would be a terrible mistake to remain locked up in her bedroom. She'd coordinated the whole thing and bought a pricey cocktail dress – she'd be damned if she let it go to waste. She was sick and tired of the entirety of her acquaintances gravitating around her with comforting words, and there was no better way to silence them once and for all.

With that in mind, she dragged herself to the tailor's, waving back at the few acquaintances she met along the way, feeling lonelier with every step she took. Bonnie was supposed to be here with her.

As she twisted her head to make sure the magenta dress complimented her curves, a sigh escaped her lips. The best word to describe her state of mind at the moment? Loneliness. Solitude. Alienation. Or better yet – friendlessness. What fun was it to wear a princess dress if your best friend wasn't here to see you in it? Or your other best friend? Or your boyfriend? Or your father?

"Pretty dress, Caroline!"

The door of the store flew open, and with a wince, Caroline spun around to face Elena. She had to bite back a snarky remark when she noticed Rebekah standing by the brunette's side. When had that happened? When Stefan had said Elena was out of control, she never thought the situation was so critical. As she stared at them, she realized that she'd rather be alone.

"I know," she said with an acid smile. "You helped me pick it out months ago when we were friends. Before you tried to kill me."

"I thought it looked familiar," Elena said, amused recognition flashing through her eyes.

Caroline exhaled deeply, willing herself to indifference. Stefan, although he wasn't half the friend he used to be, had insisted that today was about "killing Elena with kindness", in hopes to make her turn her humanity back on. So she simply rolled her eyes and called out to the tailor.

"Can you press this up for me?" she said. "I'll pick it up later."

When the woman nodded, Caroline flipped her hair and went back into the changing room, deciding that she'd had enough of Elena Gilbert for the day. Maybe the theme of the party, 'pictures of you', would be more suitable for Stefan's plans. Expecting her to bond with Elena now was just too much to ask. She stormed out of the store, and stepped onto the concrete with the firm desire to keep her emotions under control, today.

Elena was _really _pushing it. Later that day, Caroline marched into Klaus' freaking castle, yelling his name every other second. They hadn't seen each other since he stopped by her house, and she was perfectly aware that her being here made no sense. They were not exactly friends, after all. But he was the only one she could turn to. And having _anyone _to turn to for something as trivial was a solace she needed.

"Klau—hello," she exclaimed. "Did you not hear me?"

Facing away from her, the Original barely moved. She wasn't exactly surprised to find him staring into the fireplace – she honestly thought he spent most of his days like this, reflecting upon the course of his life and the current state of whatever scheme he had going on.

Maybe sometimes, he even thought about her.

"Of course I heard you, Caroline. I think the whole of Mystic Falls heard you," he said. "I'm in no mood for company."

"I'm sorry that you're having personal issues, but I have a real crisis on my hands," she informed as he kept his back turned to her. "Elena stole my Prom dress."

He turned to face her, an unreadable look on his face. She felt enabled to continue.

"I went to pick it up, and the tailor said that somebody else already did. And when I asked who, she said she couldn't remember."

More silence.

"Hello," she exclaimed, determined to get a reaction out of him. "The vervain is out of the town water supply. She was compelled!"

The reaction she got wasn't exactly the one she expected. His face broke into a wide grin, and he shook with audible laughter. Caroline had trouble believing it. He was supposed to be her Bonnie, and be outraged. There was nothing to laugh about.

"It is _not _funny," she threatened.

"I know, I know," Klaus said.

"Then stop laughing," she said. "Look, I know that Prom isn't important to you, but it's important to me."

Klaus did his best to hide his growing smile, and she glared at him in response. This entire experience was nerve-wracking, especially now that she found herself deprived of the two people she was supposed to have by her side.

Bonnie's departure had broken her, all the way down. She was crippled by her loved ones' absence and even though she'd let life pass her by long enough to collect herself, the success wasn't exactly there yet. But she knew it could take months for her to recover from the rough patch she'd gone through. _Baby steps_, she kept thinking.

"Surely, finding another dress is well within your substantial vampire capabilities," Klaus suggested somehow cautiously.

"I don't _want _just another dress," she complained. "I wanna look hot. Like Princess-Grace-of-Monaco hot."

Prom was her chance to resume her life. As shallow as it sounded, it was her opportunity to join the world of the living again. If anything went wrong, she would never get back on her feet. She was swimming against the current, and she needed Klaus to be her lifeline.

"Could you please go back to your creepy trophy case of family collectibles and dig me out something of royal caliber?" she said, her voice slightly begging.

His eyes twinkled with malice, and she knew she'd won.

"Thank you," she whispered truthfully.

"I'll bring the dress to your house in an hour."

She walked out of the house almost joyfully, and when she heard Klaus' footsteps on the porch, precisely sixty minutes later, the weight on her shoulders immediately vanished. She would get through this horrid day.

What if it was nothing like she had planned? Plans were meant to be changed. What if she wasn't going to dance with Tyler, or sing along to her favorite song with Bonnie? Both of them were being safe. What if Elena had turned into a dress-stealing bitch? She still had Matt, and they'd be voted Prom King & Queen.

Klaus knocked on her bedroom door, waiting to be invited in.

"Come in," she greeted with more enthusiasm than she'd expressed in weeks.

He entered the room with a box similar to the one he'd had delivered to her house on the night of the Mikaelson ball. She smiled softly at him and gasped when he opened it for her, revealing a strapless ivory dress that was even prettier than anything she'd imagined.

"You'll be glad to know it belonged to an actual princess, sweetheart."

She stared at Klaus, trying hard to recall everything despicable about him, and yet she couldn't summon the will to ask him to leave. Everything about this moment felt unreal. Today, he'd been a friend to her, the light at the end of her tunnel. He'd helped without asking questions and endured her insanity with patience.

This situation was dangerous — the man she was staring at was dangerous. He appealed to her deepest, darkest desires. The ones she wasn't sure she had come to terms with.

"Thank you," she said as her eyes caressed the rich fabric. "It's perfect."

She rapidly made an escape to the bathroom, where she put on the dress, her gestures showing the appropriate reverence.

Was it wrong that she longed for more than what Mystic Falls had to give? Did it make her a bad person that, when she looked at her reflection in the newly-installed mirror, she wanted to be that person for the rest of her life? What did it say about her that she wanted to be like _him_, capable of killing and maiming if it meant protecting the ones she loved, without feeling any regret?

Was it monstrous that she was concerned about the color of her lipstick when Bonnie was somewhere alone, running for her life? Did it make her a hypocrite that she was beginning to forgive herself for killing these people, but she was still furious at Stefan for not lifting a finger when she needed him?

_Stop thinking_, she admonished herself. _Just live._

She quickly applied her mascara, taking deep breaths to calm herself, and joined Klaus again. Her gait had become somewhat more disciplined, more elegant, to honor the gown.

"How do I look?" she asked shyly.

"Like royalty," he said, deadpan.

When she didn't even smile, he frowned.

"What, now?"

_He knew her too well, already. _

"I need Bonnie and Elena," she whispered.

A moment passed before he reacted. He had been resting the weight of his body against the nearest wall, and Caroline observed curiously as his posture subtly changed until it was completely unnatural, much like the extrovert she knew him _not _to be.

"Forget the red lipstick," he ordered when she reached for it, his face both serious and amused. "Go with something neutral, like…peach, maybe?"

A smile surfaced on her lips when she understood.

"Also, Grace often wore her hair in a bun with she had a strapless dress," he said.

She smiled at him being on a first-name basis with _the _princess of Monaco, and proceeded to effortlessly arrange her hair into an elegant side bun that won his approval right away. When she was done applying her peach lipstick, she started fetching different items she needed – her purse, her miniature perfume sprayer, her pocket mirror.

"If you found a necklace to accessorize your outfit, you'd look absolutely perfect."

With a determined look on her face, she stormed around, opening drawers in a frenzy, suddenly profoundly upset that the perfection of her outfit depended on a necklace. A sigh escaped her when she absentmindedly grabbed Bonnie's mysterious (and empty) gift box and put it down immediately, refusing to let thoughts of her friend crush her. She had bigger immediate problems — _like the infuriating absence of appropriate jewelry. _

"I don't _have _a necklace to complement a dress like _that_," she complained.

It was only seconds before Klaus was smiling benevolently at her panic-stricken face, and exhibiting the perfect accessory: a simple, yet elegant necklace made of a golden chain and a single white pearl.

"How did you—"

"No time for questions, love," he said. "I know the rule is to be fashionably late to social gatherings, but your date has been waiting downstairs for half an hour."

Caroline jumped a little when she looked at the time and observed that Klaus was right - Matt must have been in the limo, wondering what on Earth was holding her back.

"Thank you for everything, Klaus," she said. "Really."

Her smile widened, and she spontaneously wrapped her arms around his neck. Her impulse would get her in trouble, someday – but it felt nice to do something without thinking. For the first time, she let herself feel the electricity between their bodies; it made her shiver as she rested her head on his shoulder.

It was the first physical contact she'd had with anybody since the witches' death. That was the embrace he would have given her in that forest, had she not been so judgmental. She let herself enjoy the simple comfort that came with a hug, and then ran down the stairs to join Matt.

"Glad to see you're back to your old self," he greeted her, looking pointedly at his watch.

She giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, refusing to apologize for anything at all, tonight. The little things would help her get through, she was sure of it. So when they made their way into the alley at school and Matt flinched at a photo of him and Vicki, Caroline refused to be sorry.

She intertwined her fingers with Matt and smiled at him with all the softness she could muster.

"Celebrate her, tonight," she whispered. "Celebrate that you were lucky enough to have her in your life."

Matt inhaled deeply and nodded.

"I think all of us have cried enough," he said. "It's time to let go of the past and everything that's been weighing us down."

"I couldn't agree more," she said as they made their way into the dancing room. "Tonight, we'll think of everyone we've lost, look at the pictures of who we used to be and say 'what's done is done', and then we'll move on."

He said nothing, and she saw the glimpse of sadness that flashed through his eyes.

"You're one of the good ones, Matt Donovan," she said, her voice vibrant with emotion. "And you have a great life ahead of you."

"And you…apparently have a bright future as an event planner," Matt teased when they entered the room.

Caroline threw a look around and couldn't suppress a discreet smile.

"Seriously, Care! Why do I feel like this isn't Prom, but a rehearsal for your wedding?"

Every detail in the room reflected who she truly was; a girl with a romantic heart and, let's be honest, a _fantastic _taste. She remembered talking to Bonnie about the arrangements she made for the evening, discussing every choice of flowers and music. She fetched her phone from her purse and took a few pictures, just in case Bonnie was finally able to send her a phone number.

"Maybe…because it is?" she laughed.

Matt shook his head and went to get them drinks, leaving her alone with her thoughts for a moment.

Nobody had cringed away from her upon her entrance. Familiar faces were smiling at her, just like nothing had happened. The thought that some of these people would stare at pictures from tonight years from now and smile fondly made her realize that, in the end, she would not leave only a dreadful mark on the world. In their eyes, she was the same old Caroline Forbes – the girl they trusted to make their high school parties memorable.

It was the first time since the witches sacrifice that she felt like herself. It did help a lot that she was wearing that magnificent dress and — the blonde was brought back to the here and now when she spotted Elena entering the room with a Salvatore brother on each arm, as per usual. Her blood ran cold with fury as she observed how _her _dress complimented the brunette's curves and how the dark red fabric did wonders for her complexion. It was painful to admit it, but Elena did look fabulous. She gritted her teeth and marched straight to the trio.

"How do I look?" Elena teased.

"Are you kidding me? You look like a backstabbing b–"

She stopped herself right on time, giving in to Stefan's insistent stare.

"The dress is beautiful, and it brings out your eyes," she admitted.

"Thanks," Elena said. "I thought I'd do it a favor."

Caroline opened her mouth to give her former friend a piece of her mind, but Stefan interrupted her, once again.

"Caroline, why don't you come dance with me, uh?"

The numerous voicemails he'd left her revolved around one thing: showing Elena nothing but kindness and support to trigger _any _kind of emotion that might make her want to stop being a cold-hearted bitch. _Of course, those hadn't been Stefan's words. He was still too busy fawning over her to call her a bitch._

Caroline considered the proposition for a while, staring at the hand he was offering her, and turned to the other brother, instead. It was the first time she'd been in Damon's presence since Bonnie's "disappearance" and her heart clenched when she realized that he was the last person to have seen her friend.

"Actually, I'd rather dance with Damon."

The latter hid his surprise under a characteristic smirk and whisked her away from her brunette frienemy, who was still giving her the stink eye.

"Let me guess," he began as they swayed to the music. "You're still very _very_ angry with your mentor Saint Stefan for not saving your BFF…"

She frowned at him, surprised that he, of all people, would notice her anger towards Stefan.

"That's the only valuable reason you'd dance with me," he shrugged, causing her to shake her head. "That, and…_that_."

He nodded towards the other end of the room, where Stefan was apparently trying to trigger a spark of…something in Elena. From the distance, it was hard to tell whether he was being romantic or just a tease.

Caroline's eyes met Damon's and the obvious hurt in them made her feel for him. She was profoundly convinced that he was entirely wrong for Elena, but his feelings weren't any less sincere. And given her own track record, and the way she might or might not be feeling about Klaus – who was she to judge?

"Still rooting for them, aren't you?" he said bitterly.

She threw a radiant smile at the blue-eyed vampire.

"Actually, I'm thinking I'd like to pair Elena with _death _right now," she said through her teeth.

"I feel ya, sister," Damon laughed, making her spin effortlessly.

The air shifted as Damon's laugh died in his throat and Caroline spotted Stefan and Elena going their separate ways. Somewhere in the room, Matt was being approached by Rebekah, who wondered if she'd make a good human. Everyone was dealing with the same old issues and Caroline had one on her mind.

"Any word on the Silas situation?" she asked cautiously.

Damon gave her a warning look. They had to be careful. They could not exchange information that Silas the Psychic could extort out of them, later.

"Last I heard, he was chasing the cure, and thus, the lovely Katherine Pierce across the country," he informed. "If he's anything like your Original beau, we should be left alone for another five _centuries_."

She slapped his shoulder lightly at the word "beau" and rolled her eyes.

"He won't be coming back until he finds her, right?"

"Even if he did, there's nothing here for him anymore."

She remained silent this time, unpleasant images assaulting her closed eyelids. When she opened her eyes, things got worse. The screen behind Damon was projecting a picture of Jeremy and Bonnie from the Decade Dance. Caroline felt herself falter. _"Damon will help. He appears to be quite good at helping people die."_

"What did you do, Damon?" she asked, her voice just on the edge of pleading.

"Bonnie's gone, Caroline," he said. "The sooner you get used to it, the better."

"How did you help her?" she insisted. "I need to know."

Damon bit his lip.

"I don't know _exactly_," he confessed. "I remember she left the note and there was fire but…it's all confused. She must have erased my memory, just in case."

The note. Caroline had read it so many times that she knew it by heart.

_I can't risk your lives any longer. I'm the one Silas needs, and this ends with me. Forgive me. I'm doing this for you. All my love, Bonnie. _

"She's smart," Caroline said, a little frustrated. "She's protecting us."

He said nothing and continued dancing, obviously trying hard not to look for Elena. For the first time in a long while, Caroline felt nothing but sympathy towards him. In the midst of their supernatural life-and-death issues, she was finally able to see the human behind the compelling blue eyes and the constant sarcasm.

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank you," she said. "For whatever you did to help Bonnie."

"Don't go soft on me, Blondie," he said.

He made a show of rolling his eyes at her and she shook her head as she walked away.

It was beyond her, the reason why he kept denying that he was good at heart. His mask of villain had begun to crack from the moment he laid eyes on Elena Gilbert.

For the next hour, Caroline wandered around the room, posing for pictures and making small talk with whoever came her way. She did her best to maintain a smile on her face and enjoy this moment of simple happiness with Matt, but it was too hard. Having Elena in her field of vision, keeping an eye on Rebekah for possible mischief and glaring at Stefan? Not exactly the way she'd imagined what was supposed to be a milestone.

After Damon offered her a swallow of Bourbon, she decided she'd had enough. She excused herself to Matt and walked home, drowning her thoughts into the cold night air. The streets were empty of course, and it felt like she belonged out there, the sound of her heels echoing in the silence.

She stopped by the police station to give her mother a hug, and walked past Bonnie's house. The past rushed over her and brought a nostalgic smile to her face. Those streets held the memory of her brightest, careless years. No matter where she'd go from then on, Mystic Falls would always be a part of her and she made the conscious decision to keep only the good.

_There would be bad everywhere else, after all. _

She quickly found herself on the porch of her house, where the memory of Tyler still lingered. For the first time since he'd left, she realized she'd be able to move on.

What she and Tyler had was pure passion. And even though they were immortals, their love was deeply human. He was the one you loved in high school; the one you thought you wanted to spend your life with – the one that was meant to get away because passion never lasted.

Before she went into the house, she looked at the sky, hoping Tyler was doing the same. She tried to imagine where he was, and wondered if his thoughts were with her in this moment. And she stopped worrying. Everything would be fine for him – and she couldn't wait for the day they'd meet again, in a decade or a century. She'd smile at him from across the street and he'd know that he would always own a piece of her.

She smiled at the thought and pushed the door open, leaving the lights off. She felt her way to the bathroom, removed her makeup and got into her comfortable PJs.

When she lied down on her bed, she grabbed her phone and deliberately ignored the voicemail Stefan had left for her. She dialed Klaus' number, refusing to overanalyze the unexpected need.

He picked up the phone immediately.

"I heard you've become Mystic Falls High royalty," Klaus greeted her.

Caroline laughed softly as she pulled her comforter towards her chin.

"I left before they announced the results," she said.

She got tired of the pretending. The idea was slowly making its way into her mind that Klaus had been right when he said she was no longer bound by human conventions. Senior Year was not unique anymore – not to her, not when she could literally spend the rest of eternity graduating over and over again.

"Well, Rebekah is quite furious, I assure you."

"I'm sure the dress got me most of the votes," she joked. "So thank you. I'll return the necklace tomorrow."

"It's not mine, love," he said.

"Of course, it's not, you pathological thief," she teased. "I'm still giving it back. Don't want any more bad karma."

"I'm serious, Caroline," he insisted. "I found that necklace in your room."

She frowned and eyed the piece of jewelry. She had no recollection whatsoever of having ever seen it. It wasn't Elena's taste and Bonnie was out of town. How did it get here?

"Where did you find it?" she asked.

"In that tiny box on your nightstand," he said, slightly amused. "The one Bonnie gave you."

Caroline frowned. That box had been empty from Day One.

* * *

**A/N : Here we go again! That chapter took me a little longer to write because I reworked it completely after I saw the "Pictures of You" episode. I hope you like the few arrangements I made. We're beginning to see how Caroline resents Stefan, and how she's feeling closer to Damon and Klaus - unlikely, right? Thoughts on what Bonnie and Damon did to help her escape Silas? Also...what happened with Bonnie's box and the necklace? We're halfway through Part One, and after the box starts making changes in Caroline's life, we'll move on to Bonnie and finally, Damon. Let me know what you think xx - M.**


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